On Veg AloneAre there really health benefits to a vegetarian lifestyle?
Westchester Magazine, November 2008

Quiet, Please!My article in the July 2008 issue of Ode on the health effects of noise.

Retirement: Keep HealthyPublished in the June 23, 2008 issue of Barron's, some scribbles and good advice on aging healthfully.

Not the Same Old Drive-thruThe meat is raised naturally; the packaging is recycled; the ovens use renewable power. New green fast-food chains are serving up burgers and fries to feel good about.
...My article on healthier, greener fast food is the cover story for the April 2008 issue of Ode magazine. This was great fun--and a bit fattening--to research!

Lisa R. Young: The Portion Teller: Smartsize Your Way to Permanent Weight LossCarl's Jr's double cheeseburger contains a full pound of meat and 1,400 calories...American crossants are twice as big as those made in France...a single street-vendor pretzel consists of 6 servings...In her new book, Lisa Young, a nutrition consultant and faculty member at New York University, reveals many more disturbing facts about contemporary food portions and more important, explains how to "smartsize" the food you eat. This is a terrific book, whether you're trying to lose weight or want to avoid getting heavy.

Peter D. Kramer: Against DepressionNot an easy read, but a worthwhile one. This is the main point: We should drop our romantic illusions about depression and look at it for what it is: a disease.

October 26, 2011

Are You Going to Continue Taking Vitamins?

Never a huge believer in vitamins, I'll admit to a calcium/D supplement, a tablet containing smorgasbord of B, and an occasional multivitamin. But now I'm wondering about that even those few. As Shirley Wang wrote in the Wall Street Journal this week, the evidence of a benefit just ain't there in huge trials. And there's some hint of risks associated with some vitamins taken in tablet form. If you take vitamins, I urge you to read her update on the latest findings--you may be suprised at what you read.

Earlier this month, it was reported that vitamin E might actually increase the risk of prostate cancer slighly. Or maybe if it's taken with selenium, it's ok. This is not a ringing endorsement.

Elderly people who take multivitamins may have a slightly higher risk of death than similar folks who don't. Or mayble this uptick was caused by women who take iron even though they don't usually need it after menopause. Again, who knows?

Vitamin studies are notoriously hard to conduct and interpret. What does it mean if you start taking a vitamin at age 40? Can you override any nutritional problems caused by years of eating too few fruits and vegetables?

What we do know: Women of childbearng age should take folate. They should also consider taking iron.

What we do know, part 2: Eat lots of plants. Keep your weight down. Exercise.

Here's food for thought from Ms Wang's article:

Roberta Anding, a nutritionist at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, says some people need multivitamins and other supplements, but she is cautious about the risk from high doses of micronutrients. "It's no longer nutrition when the doses become high, it's pharmacology," she says.

Comments

I am totally confused now. I have read about both sides of these studies. I am 67 and three or four years ago when I was found to have osteoporosis my doctor recommended Calcium, Vitamin D, and a multivitamin. I don't know if this is advised now in light of the difference of opinions.